


Catching Up

by GlyphArchive



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23875741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlyphArchive/pseuds/GlyphArchive
Summary: Now that the world isn’t ending it’s time to get an important message across.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Catching Up

“Mm…” A soft grumble accompanied by the scuff of feet against the floor announced her presence; though if Karna were honest it hadn’t been difficult to spot Ganesha lurking outside the solarium. He waited, curious to see if she would venture inside while he meditated. So far she had gotten as far as the bookcase many of the Servants had begun stacking their own preferred literature on for anyone to peruse. By cracking open an eye, Karna could make out the shape of one pink elephant’s ear and Ganesha’s broken tusk.

“Are you going to wait forever, Lord Ganesha?” He finally asked, lowering his hands to let them rest on his knees. Only to be surprised when Ganesha didn’t flinch back and turn away, instead releasing a great huff and pushing herself away from the bookcase. She had a determined glint in her eye that seemed… not _quite_ out of place, but not familiar enough to be considered _normal_.

“Oi,” snapping her fingers, Ganesha dragged his attention back to the present with an annoyed look on her face. “Stop zoning out on me, Karna-san. It’s bad enough when I can’t tell if you’re still meditating or if you’ve fallen asleep.”

Karna’s mouth opened, an entire dialogue ready to slip off his tongue in retort before he stopped himself. _Why were you watching? It is rude to stare at people when they are occupied. If you need something you should speak up, Jinako._

Much as he wanted to say it, he sensed that it would only make her upset. And it had been Jinako, after all, who instructed him to learn better communication skills in the first place.

“I am not asleep.” Karna managed instead, folding his hands in his lap. “So I am able to answer your question, if that is what has kept you hiding in plain sight all this time.” As soon as he spoke the words Karna almost wanted to wince. Too blunt, his own personally-made curse; and the very thing that had caused so much friction between them before.

Ganesha’s eyes only narrowed, a far cry from Jinako’s defensive outbursts that he could only _just_ remember if he strained to do so. Like reaching for the details of a dream long after waking; he could grasp threads of interaction and vague impressions, though the whole of the truth was lost to him at the moment. It was a little easier, Karna had noted, if Ganesha herself was around.

“Rude.” One of her fingers drew back, flicking him right between the brows a second later and startling him more than anything else. “You don’t have to say it like _that_ , you know. Makes me sound like a creep. I was _trying_ to respect your privacy, but now you’re making me regret leaving my kotatsu.”

Cocking her head to the side, Ganesha studied him over the frame of her glasses.

“You _are_ done meditating,” she asked slowly, “right?”

Karna blinked, lips twitching faintly. He wanted to smile, but it was too soon to guess whether doing so would just make her upset or not. “I am.” He answered at last, keeping his voice level. “What do you need of me?”

“Good.” Ganesha looked satisfied – no, dare he say _smug_ in that moment. Before he could ask why she was drawing herself up, hands on her hips like she was preparing for a lecture. “I didn’t get to do this before.”

Then she took the elephant hat off her head and _**hit**_ him with it, ears and all. Karna flinched, composure lost at the surprise of the sudden blow and the one which came almost immediately after. It didn’t really _hurt_ – hardly more than being struck with a reasonably soft pillow might; but Ganesha’s hat had _weight_ to it and she was apparently determined to at least knock the wind out of him.

“What were you _thinking_?!” Ganesha, no – _Jinako_ , it seemed – raised her voice as she whapped him again. “Just charging ahead like that, without waiting for a proper order! I’m not your Master anymore but that’s just _stupid_! Stupid, stupid, stupid! You could have – you were almost gone and nobody would’ve been able to get you back! If that awful Yankee hadn’t interfered you wouldn’t be here!”

The black eyes sewn onto Ganesha’s hat seemed to glare at him through the deceptive veil of cuteness they possessed. Karna stared, one arm raised to defend himself against another blow but Ganesha’s – _Jinako’s_ – arms were quivering. _She_ was quivering, from head to toe; face turned downward and letting her wild hair obscure her expression.

“Don’t you _ever_ ,” she began in a shaky, quiet voice. “ _Ever_ do that again. I don’t care what’s at stake, it was bad enough when old man Gatou –“

Jinako stopped herself there, hands curling into fists; elephant hat trembling at her side.

“Jinako?” Karna moved before he could think on it, the tips of his fingers brushing over her sleeve. Her wrist and hand; pausing only because she’d balled her hand so tightly he couldn’t coax his fingers between hers.

She sniffled, turning her head away from him and scrubbing at her eyes. When she finally _did_ meet his stare, her composure seemed to have recovered. Her eyes were puffy, however; irritated and red around the edges. Her mouth trembled, but she didn’t cry.

“When I told you that it was okay to be more selfish, I didn’t mean it like _that_.” She grumbled, setting her hat back on her head and fiddling with it almost nervously. “It’s different now, not being in a Grail War. You can’t be all reckless like that and just fly off to fight the strongest opponent you can without – “

“Say what you mean, Jinako.” Karna cut across her rambling, not feeling the slightest bit guilty about it. “If you continue to dodge around the issue, I will not be able to learn the truth of what you’re saying.”

Her fist thumped against his arm with a surprising amount of strength, the look she directed at him over the rim of her glasses more annoyed than anything else.

“That’s a lie.” Jinako deadpanned. “You’re not supposed to lie, Karna. Especially to a god. It looks bad on you.”

This time, he wasn’t able to restrain a smile in time. The tips of his ears burned a little but even as Karna inclined his head, he couldn’t really bring himself to mind.

“What I’m _saying_ is,” she continued before he could point out anything else, one finger raised towards the tip of his nose like a threat. “You need to get your reckless impulses under control. No more flying off to fight everybody on your own. No self-sacrificing. I’m not your Master this time around,” her expression fell a little as she said that, though she did a better job of composing herself this time. “But as a Pseudo-Servant who matches wavelengths with Ganesha, I forbid you from doing that again! If you try, this elephant god and I will definitely curse you! Got it?”

“I understand.” Karna lowered his gaze, still smiling; caught between amusement and the slightest bit of exasperation. “I cannot promise immediate results, I’m afraid. But I will… try.”

A long-suffering huff answered him. When he looked up Karna felt certain that most of the incredulousness being directed his way came from Ganesha, rather than Jinako.

“You really are a troublesome guy, Karna-san.” Ganesha shook her head, one hand pressed against her temple. “I’m going to need some more _modak_ before I deal with you when you’re like this.”


End file.
